Knightshade
by KSherwood
Summary: This is the second of my two Schumacher revamps, the first being "Dark of the Night."  It centers on Freeze as the villain, and gone are all of the stupid ice puns.


Knightshade

By

KSherwood

It was a dark and stormy night. Dr. Victor Friez was hard at work in his medical laboratory of the Wayne Tech building, pulling another all-nighter of his research. So absorbed was he in his work, that he did not notice when the door opened behind him and his superior, Karl Ridges, stepped into the room.

Ridges watched his subordinate at his work for a moment then cleared his throat.

Friez jumped and turned around.

"Hello, Victor," said Ridges, politely, sitting down at Friez's desk, "Sit down."

Friez knew he was in trouble. Since his wife, Nora, had been diagnosed with a rare and terminal illness, he had been secretly researching her disease at night, and he kept her alive by keeping her frozen in cryogenic sleep until he found the cure.

"Victor," said Ridges, "It has come to my attention that you've been using company equipment for personal research. You know that's against the policy; it's got to stop. Immediately."

The blood drained from Friez's handsome face.

"It can't be stopped," he protested, "If it is stopped, Nora will die."

Ridges laughed disbelievingly, "That's none of my affair, Victor. You have no legal right to this research."

He looked over into a corner of the room where all of Friez's notes and records were.

"These records and such, since you made them using company equipment belong to the company. I'll take them now."

Friez stood up. "No, Karl. I will not let you take away everything I've worked for. You can't just write off Nora's life as if she were just another unsuccessful experiment."

"Stop me," snapped Ridges, "I have every legal right to this."

Friez hit him very hard in the chest. Ridges staggered, but recovered quickly and hit Friez back. In an instant the men were having a full-scale brawl in the empty lab. Lightning flashed and thunder cracked. Friez belted Ridges, who fell back, but he gained a second wind and kicked Friez in the stomach. Friez, the wind knocked out of him, stumbled and fell into a table full of toxic chemicals. He screamed in agony as they soaked through his skin, freezing so much they burned.

Ridges watched in horror as his underling's skin darkened from tan to gray. While Ridges was a cold-hearted bastard in the world of business, he was also a coward, and the thought of legal trouble terrified him.

"Victor?" He asked, and on receiving no answer decided that Victor Friez was dead.

He ran from the lab, trying to collect himself and think of a plan.

"It was an accident," he said, "But that's still manslaughter. This never happened. He was fired for insubordination. That's right. Keep it together, Karl. You're not gonna get caught for this."

He went through the employee records and fixed it so that his lie looked true enough if anyone bothered to ask where Friez was. Now he would only have to dispose of the body, which would be easy enough. There was always acid handy in the chemical storage area. But when Ridges returned to the lab to start his cover-up, Friez's body was gone.

Friez was not dead, but he was greatly changed. Hidden in the giant freezer, he assessed the damage done to him by Ridge's kick into the chemicals. Normal temperatures burned him, and his newly silver skin was dotted with blisters; only intense cold temperatures could support his life. His brown hair had fallen out, and his eyes now resembled gleaming rubies. Were it not for the faint cloud of his breath, he could have been an ice sculpture. He was, however, not completely frozen; his heart still burned for Nora and a way to make things right again.

About a month later, around five o'clock in the afternoon, Bruce Wayne sat near a large window in stately Wayne Manor when the Bat Signal flashed through the sky. Five minutes later, as Batman, he sped out into the night in the direction of the city. Commissioner Gordon's face appeared on the viewing screen.

"There's a man hitting the jewelry stores on Taylor Street. He has a very strange and dangerous weapon; it can freeze things or people in ice."

Taylor Street was under three solid inches of ice and even the Batmobile with its special tires pulled into a skid. Batman just managed to avoid a crash.

A tall man clad in something like a spacesuit emerged from a jewelry store clutching a bag of diamonds and a very unusual gun. The man was none other that Victor Friez, still a living ice sculpture, unable to survive outside of a sub-zero environment, hence the suit, powered by the diamonds. He also needed the gems to finance his research.

Friez fired his unique weapon at Batman, who dodged the beam of ice, but slid on the icy ground. Friez fired again, and Batman jumped away again and hurled his Batarang at the frozen thief knocking the gun from his hand. Friez cursed quietly, and both men lunged for the weapon.

Friez got there just ahead of Batman, who narrowly avoided the beam a third time. In dodging at such close range, he got a good look at Friez's face and thought it looked familiar, despite the changes.

"Who are you?" he asked, for he didn't have a name for his face.

"You can call me Mr. Freeze," answered the living ice sculpture, matter-of-factly.

On that note he hit Batman with the butt of his gun, knocking him down, and he ran to his special getaway vehicle and sped away. Batman got into the Batmobile and tried to follow him, but the frozen road made this impossible, and he was forced to admit defeat.

He drove back to the Batcave and examined the possibilities for improving the tires, so this would not happen again. He was just putting the new design in the Batcomputer, when Alfred Pennyworth appeared.

"Miss Thierry is here, sir," he said.

"Oh," Bruce Wayne smiled a little guiltily, for he had completely forgotten that his girlfriend was coming over. "Thanks. Uh, Alfred, do I know anyone named Freeze?"

"Frieze? I don't think so, sir."

Bruce nodded and hurried upstairs to meet Sage Thierry. They kissed hello and talked for a few minutes before Bruce asked her the same question he had asked Alfred.

"Friez?" Sage asked, "Yes… I remember a Victor Friez. I knew his wife, Nora, a little better."

The memory came back to Bruce, and he thanked Sage for the information.

In a very different section of the city, a few hours later, Mr. Freeze entered his makeshift laboratory in an empty ice cream factory, which he had converted to his hideout and approached the glass capsule in which his wife slept. She was very beautiful, with her long blonde hair and the skirt of her nightgown rippling gently in the liquid in which she was contained.

For a moment, Freeze stood there silently admiring her, and dreaming of the past.

Finally he spoke. "It won't be much longer, Nora," he promised, "I did not get much research done today, but you shouldn't worry."

Nora stirred a little at the sound of her husband's voice, and slept on.

Back at Wayne Manor, Bruce and Sage were also asleep. After she had left the following morning, Bruce asked Alfred to dig up anything he could on Victor Friez.

"Employment, naturalization, marriage, anything."

"Yes, sir," replied Alfred, who rather enjoyed doing this sort of work.

Bruce went back down to the Batcave and continued his work on the tires of the Batmobile.

Recalling the difficulties ensuing his outright robberies, Mr. Freeze planned to burglarize the Gotham City Museum's collection of gems. He got in with no trouble, all he had to do was freeze the security systems, and so far he hadn't seen any guards. The gem display hadn't yielded as many diamonds as he had hoped, but they would power his suit just the same.

Freeze was preparing to leave the way he came, when he heard the sound of high-heeled footsteps behind him. Turning around, he was greeted by a study of red and green sexuality. He aimed his freeze gun at the intruder, who smiled sweetly and raised her hands in mock surrender, careful not to jar the bag she was carrying.

"You can put that away," she said in the voice of a _femme fatale,_ " I got what I came for, and you don't look like the type of man who'd be interested in plant toxins."

"No," agreed Freeze, lowering his gun if not his guard.

The red and green woman approached him seductively. "What's your name?"

"Mr. Freeze."

"Just mister, no first name?"

"Victor. Victor Friez."

"I'm Poison Ivy, but call me Pam."

Freeze was saved the necessity of replying by the arrival of the night watchman. Mr. Freeze was about to turn him to ice, but Ivy placed a restraining hand on his arm.

"Let me." With that, she sashayed over to the guard, who drew his pistol and told her to raise her hands.

She obeyed partially. Poison Ivy raised her hands to he mouth and blew a pink dust over at the guard. The man dropped his gun, looking confused and happy, like a little boy who did not know which of his birthday presents to open first.

"Now that's better," said Ivy, retrieving the gun from the floor, "That's no way to settle an argument, is it, honey?"

"No," said the guard, who was practically drooling.

"I thought you'd see it my way." Ivy seized the guard by his tie, tucked the gun back into its holster and kissed him lingeringly on the mouth.

When she pulled away, the guard swayed where he stood for a minute, then he fell to the ground with a nasty thud, dead as a doornail.

"Impressive," said Freeze, examining the dead man.

The corpse's eyes had a bright expectant look, like he had just heard the postman's second ring, and his tongue was lolling. Pink foam was at the corners of his mouth.

"My lipstick," Ivy explained, "I have deadly nightshade, ricin, and pure nicotine. Very useful, and not permanent."

She gave her scarlet head a saucy toss, which Freeze ignored. He wanted to return to his spooky ice cream factory and Nora. Ivy wiped off her lipstick with a dark green handkerchief that was spotted with several other lipstick blots.

"How far are you going, Victor?" She asked.

"Don't you have a getaway car of your own?" was his reply.

"That's cold. You need to warm things up a little."

Freeze explained that he was married.

"Oh," Ivy set her teeth together. She was not used to being rejected by either bachelors or married men. "Forget I said that. See you around, Victor."

"Good night."

Ivy went back to her hybrid car that ran completely off of organic fuel and drove to her hideout. Her lair was on top of one of the many building in Gotham City that had seen better days. Her rooftop had a skylight, which served as a barrier to her part of the roof and the rest of the building.

Poison Ivy's mutant plants eagerly raised their heads as she entered the greenhouse, but they sensed her foul mood and stayed back.

"I have been rejected," she told them, filing her loot away.

The plants did not know what this meant, but they wanted to make her feel better. One huge Venus flytrap nuzzled her thigh tentatively.

"Oh, baby," said Ivy, hugging it, "I'm not angry at you. I'm angry with Victor's wife."

The shrub opened its mouth in a gesture similar to curiosity, though what it really meant was "feed me". Ivy sat down gracefully on a violet fainting sofa. She fondled the creeper vines, which had slithered over to her for a minute before continuing her story.

"The sexiest man I've ever met," she mused, "And he rejects me. Married."

She left the sofa and went over to a large Japanese screen and began to undress. After a moment she stuck out her head and addressed the plants again.

"You know my lovelies, I really would like to see Mrs. Friez." Reasonable pause, "Six feet under."

"The information you requested, sir," said Alfred Pennyworth, handing Bruce Wayne a thick manila folder.

"Thank you," said Bruce, pouring over the information, which was extensive.

"German immigrant, naturalized, married, authority on cryogenics…"

He turned a page to a medical report, diagnosing Nora Friez with a terminal illness.

"Cryogenics. And he only seems interested in diamonds, though there were more valuable things both at the museum and the jewelry stores."

He looked at the newspaper article about the burglary at the museum again. There were the stolen diamonds, which had Freeze's frozen thumbprints all over it, and there was Poison Ivy's handiwork. Bruce sighed, and massaged his temples for a second. He would worry about Poison Ivy later. Having dealt with her before, he knew how to handle her, and the unknown was the top priority.

Bruce thought for a while longer and called Sage on the telephone.

"You shouldn't keep calling me at work," Sage coyly scolded him once greetings were exchanged.

"I'm sorry, I just needed to ask you a question."

"Shoot."

"Would you like to wear my mother's diamond necklace to the charity event next week?"

Sage started to give an affirmative answer, but stopped herself. "What's the catch?"

"You'll be bait."

"Bait. You mean for that Freeze guy?"

"Yes, well, I was actually hoping that he'd attempt a burglary, but I want him to show himself."

"Count me in."

"Thank you, Sage. I owe you for this."

"I look forward to cashing in."

"Make sure everyone knows about the necklace."

"I'll tell my secretary. With any sort of luck, the news ought to be halfway to Metropolis by the end of the day."

"Good."

"Love you."

"Goodbye, Sage."

She hung up, feeling a little dejected that he hadn't said, "I love you, too", but shook the feeling off and planted the gossip seed.

A week later, Sage stood in front of the mirror in Bruce Wayne's bedroom, the diamond necklace sparkling around her neck. She looked beautiful. Her tawny hair was loosely pinned back, and she wore a pale red column dress that made her petite form look taller.

"You look great," Bruce said.

"Thanks, so do you."

"Thank you," Bruce looked idly at his reflection in the mirror and continued speaking, "I've got pretty good security here to protect the Cave, and if Mr. Freeze shows up I'll be ready but-"

"I know. I'll hide under a table."

"Good."

They kissed briefly and went out to welcome the guests and receive a hundred air kisses from the various upper class citizens of the city. Everyone oohed and ahhed at Sage's necklace, and asked all sorts of uncomfortable questions as to where their relationship was going.

Meanwhile, Mr. Freeze had risen to the bait, hook, line and sinker. Even as Bruce Wayne chatted with Commissioner Gordon and Sage Thierry mingled with the debutantes, Freeze was preparing for his robbery. Bruce and Alfred checked the security devices as often as they could without arising suspicion, and after a fairly short time, Alfred spotted Freeze's vehicle on one of the screens and quickly but discreetly informed Bruce, who slipped away to change into Batman.

The guests' party appetites were spoiled when the temperature suddenly dropped thirty degrees, the windows shattered, and the frightening figure of Mr. Freeze appeared. A few of the cops tried to draw, but Mr. Freeze zapped them with his freeze gun, rendering them helpless.

The sweetly rotten aroma of corruption entered the air, and Poison Ivy entered the room from the same place that Freeze had.

"Surprised to see me?" She asked him.

"I work alone," he replied, going over to one young woman and yanking the necklace from her throat, drawing blood.

"All you have to do is ask," said Poison Ivy, looking at the shivering guests, "I assume you want Sage Thierry."

Sage had taken refuge behind some drapes.

Poison Ivy approached a middle-aged man and blew her love dust in his face.

"Where are Miss Thierry and her valuable necklace?"

"I don't know," the man admitted, and Poison Ivy turned away in disgust.

As luck would have it, when she turned away, she saw Sage's form behind the drapes. Ivy laughed cruelly and dragged Sage out. Freeze used his freeze gun to cement her to the floor and reached for the necklace, but Batman appeared out of nowhere and kicked him away.

Mr. Freeze fired his freeze gun several times, missing Batman each time. More glass shattered, and the guests who hadn't been frozen ran for their lives, inflicting a great deal of damage to themselves as well as Wayne Manor.

Poison Ivy tried to steal the necklace herself, but Batman stopped her. She fired a tiny wrist crossbow at him, and missed, but it was close. The tiny bolt nicked the ear of his mask.

Batman managed to get in close to Freeze and tried to attack again, but this proved to be a mistake. In addition to making it possible for him to survive outside of a sub-zero environment, Freeze's suit also tripled his strength. He scored several nasty hits on Batman, and lifted him up by the throat. Batman struggled for a second, then went limp, seemingly unconscious.

Sage closed her eyes in fear, but was unable to do anything with both hands and feet frozen in place. Ivy applied a fresh coat of blood red nightshade lipstick.

"Let me kiss him," she begged.

Sage saw one of Batman's hands move towards an abandoned, and miraculously still full glass of champagne. She screamed very loudly, momentarily distracting Mr. Freeze and Poison Ivy, giving Batman the chance to hurl the contents of the glass at Mr. Freeze's helmet.

When the warmer liquid hit the frozen glass, it cracked and warm air rushed in. Freeze yelled and reeled, dropping Batman. He fled, and Batman made to follow but was stopped when Poison Ivy fired her crossbow again, pinning his cape to the wall. She then followed Freeze.

Batman seemed torn as to whether to follow them or thaw out those frozen.

"Go after them," said Sage, "We'll be alright."

Batman made a valiant attempt to follow the two criminals but lost them not far from Freeze's hideout. Still, he had a pretty good idea of where they were going, and he returned to stately Wayne Manor to help thaw out the frozen people and to survey the damage, which was extensive.

Freeze, while not originally pleased that Poison Ivy had followed him, was glad that she could help him replace his cracked helmet with a fresh one.

"Thank you, Pam," he said, glancing at his reflection in a frosty mirror, "It would have taken much longer for me to replace it myself."

Ivy smiled seductively and said, "It's freezing in here, can't you turn up the heat just a little?"

"No." Freeze handed her a thermal blanket, which she wrapped around her shoulders resignedly.

"You should meet my wife," Freeze said to Ivy, opening the door to he room in which Nora slept.

Ivy smiled agreeably, though she would rather sell herself to the arboretum, and she followed him through the door. Nora Friez was not anything like Ivy had expected; floating in her glass capsule, all signs of her illness banished from her lovely face by the freezing process. Ivy saw at once that this was a life support system, and that her opportunity to have Freeze to herself was only an "off" switch away.

"Nora," said Freeze, leaning against the glass, "This is Pam. Pam, this is my wife, Nora."

Ivy smiled, but it was the smile of a murderess. "You're a lucky man, Victor," she said.

Sage Thierry was wrapped in a blanket, and she was drinking a cup of tea that Alfred had made to guard against a cold.

"I'm sorry you got frozen," said Bruce.

Sage laughed softly. "I enjoyed wearing the necklace, and I can't wait to see the looks on the faces of the people at the insurance company when they hear about this."

Bruce smiled slightly and released her hand. "I've got fire and earthquake insurance, I don't know about ice." He became serious again. "I think I know where Freeze is hiding out."

"Where?"

"I lost him around Wright Avenue, and that's pretty close to that old ice cream factory."

"That makes sense. He has a thing for cold temperatures, and that place would seem a logical place to go."

Poison Ivy had returned to her conservatory and was plotting how to murder Nora Friez without getting caught. She was also feeding her evil plants.

She threw a chunk of meat at one of her carnivorous shrubs. "The botanical center isn't that far from the factory, and any of those plants would be welcome additions here."

The plants opened their mouths for more, and Ivy pretended that they were asking her a question. "You don't understand? I'll make sure someone sees me stealing whatever plants I can, and when Batman shows up, I let him chase me back to the factory. That will get Victor's attention, he'll want to fight Batman, and while they're busy, I can unplug Nora. And if I don't get to keep the plants from the botanical center, I'll have Victor."

The plants closed their mouths and purred, their bellies full. Ivy walked over to her lab and took out a jar labeled "creeper seeds." She shook out a handful and placed them in an olive tote bag.

"Grow babies," she cooed to the seeds, "Big and strong for Mommy."

The next evening, close to dark, the botanical center was nearly empty when the sound of breaking glass brought several employees to the greenhouse. The sight of Poison Ivy cheerfully pilfering the collection of prize orchids greeted them. She looked up and threw her mutant seeds, which sprang up and grabbed the gardeners like flies to a frog's tongue.

One yelled, "What the hell?"

"Shh," Poison Ivy said, "They won't hurt you as much if you keep still and quiet."

At the thought of being squeezed to death by creeper vines, the prisoners went limp and silent. Poison Ivy hummed "_Four Leafed Clover_" to herself and leisurely returned to her task.

Another employee of the botanical center had heard her colleagues' yells and called the police. A policeman was nearby, and drove by the botanical center and saw the strung-up gardeners through the window. He relayed the message via radio to the station, where it was decided that this was a job for Batman.

The Dark Knight was on the scene in about five minutes, and he was just in time to see Poison Ivy get into her hybrid car with the overflowing satchel of plants. She took off and Batman followed her. They sped across the streets, running several red lights and having many near collisions with other vehicles.

Poison Ivy screeched to a halt outside the ice cream factory and jumped out; Batman, sensing a trap, hesitated, but was forced to abandon the car when Poison Ivy threw some more of her mutant seeds at the Batmobile. They grew to an enormous size instantly and picked up the huge black car as easily as if it weighed nothing. Batman hurled his Batarang at it, severing a few critical shoots.

"My baby!" Poison Ivy screamed.

The remaining vines were not strong enough to hold up the Batmobile, and they dropped it.

Batman whispered. "Shields," and the Batmobile was immediately covered by black armor.

The noise of the battle attracted the attention of Mr. Freeze, who was angry that Batman had stepped onto his turf. He joined the fray, allowing Poison Ivy to slip inside.

She had very little time to commit her murder, but she did not hurry. The room was dark, the only light coming from Nora's capsule, and Poison Ivy's footsteps rang out in the frosty air. At the base of the capsule was the power switch that kept Nora Friez alive. Ivy knelt down in front of it, one gloved hand poised over it, but she did not touch the switch just yet.

"Don't hold it against me, Nora." She said in a falsely sweet voice, "If our roles were reversed, you'd do the same thing."

Ivy switched off the machine and ran back outside. The road was frozen, and both Batman and Mr. Freeze had taken a few hits. Ivy reached for her bag of mutant seeds, but Batman hit her with his Batarang and her shoulder went numb. Freeze fired his freeze gun at Batman again, and when he dodged it, Batman picked up the bag of stolen orchids.

"Shields off," Batman said, the armor disappeared and the Batmobile zoomed towards its master.

Freeze leapt out of its way, and Poison Ivy ran up into the factory entrance, clutching her shoulder. The incredible car stopped suddenly, and Batman jumped inside to return the flowers to the botanical center. His new tires did not skid on the frozen ground.

"So," said Freeze to himself, "He has overcome that difficulty. It is a pity that he chose to ally himself with my enemies."

Poison Ivy didn't offer a comment; she was busy nursing the large green bruise that was blossoming across her shoulder.

"Why did you come here?" Freeze asked.

Ivy put on a schoolgirl act. "I went to the botanical center for those orchids. You Know Who showed up just as I was about to leave, and this time I couldn't shake him. I shouldn't have come here, but I couldn't think of anything else to do."

Freeze cracked an unheard-of smile. "That's very good, Pam. You don't really need my help, but come in. I'll make sure your collarbone is not broken."

"Thank you." The gratitude was not an act; Poison Ivy's shoulder was hurting her badly.

Ivy followed Mr. Freeze into the empty factory, practicing the lie over and over in her head: Batman did it, Batman did it, Batman did it.

Freeze opened the door to his laboratory and noticed that the light in Nora's capsule was not on. "Nora!" He cried out and ran over to the glass box, and turned the power on again. Mr. Freeze dashed to his computer, and typed frantically for a second. The liquid inside the capsule bubbled fiercely for a moment, then subsided.

"Hold on, Nora," Freeze whispered, pulling up the window that monitored her heartbeat, breathing and so on. They wavered for a few moments, then returned to the normal rate for one in suspended animation.

Freeze breathed a sigh of relief, laying one of his huge, gauntleted hands on the glass. A tear ran down his cheek, froze, and shattered.

"Thank God we found her," lied Ivy. "Thank God."

Freeze turned to face Poison Ivy. His eyes blazed like coals, and she began to feel a little afraid, not just disappointed and angry.

"Who did this?" He asked the question very quietly, yet his voice carried across the frigid air as if he had shouted it.

Ivy's courage returned and she lied without faltering. "It was Batman. He tried to murder your wife."

Rage seized control of Freeze, and he swung his fist into the wall, leaving a huge dent. Logic left him, or else he would have seen through the deception.

His voice crackled like frost. "He must pay for this."

"This is all my fault," Ivy said, putting on her schoolgirl act again, "If I hadn't come here, he would never have found Nora."

"It was not your fault," Freeze said in a rare display of warmth.

"I feel responsible." Ivy realized that this was overdoing it, and decided to leave. "I shouldn't keep you any longer; I'll head back to Bell Street. Bye, Victor."

Mr. Freeze nodded shortly and returned to Nora's side. Poison Ivy drove back to Bell Street, breaking every traffic law in the state getting there. Once in the safety of her conservatory, she let her temper loose.

"Damn!" She shouted, shoving everything off her desk. "I was so close! If it had been one more minute… damn!"

She kicked one of her Venus flytraps, which whimpered like a puppy.

"Oh, honey," Poison Ivy cooed, stroking its injured tendril. "Mommy didn't mean it. I won't hurt you again."

Freeze, meanwhile, was in a very black mood, and he sat in his icy palace, plotting a way to bring Batman into the open to kill him. He thought about his failed theft of Bruce Wayne's heirloom necklace, and the lovely face of Sage Thierry floated across his memory. There was surely some tenderness between the Dark Knight and this beautiful young lawyer. An eye for an eye and a girl for a girl.

"Revenge is a dish best when served up cold," Freeze laughed to himself, though he was not normally in the habit of cracking jokes.

Because the hideout had once been an ice cream factory, it had several large storage freezers. One of these served as Mr. Freeze's research laboratory and Nora's resting-place. He slept in another, but it was to one of the empty ones that he went, to prepare it for a "guest."

Sage Thierry was just stepping out of the DA's office when a chill overcame her, and she was frozen where she stood. Quite a few passersby screamed. Mr. Freeze stepped out of his refrigerated vehicle and calmly thrust the frozen Sage into the back of the van. Though she was unable to move her limbs, Sage was still able to move her eyes, and they watched Freeze apprehensively.

A policeman appeared and drew his gun, but Freeze was faster and froze the man's entire arm. Weighed down on one side, the man fell over. The ice shattered on the impact, and his arm broke. He yelled in pain.

Mr. Freeze approached the injured man and pulled him up a bit. "Tell Batman that he has half an hour to come and exchange himself for the woman. If he does not come, she dies, and everyone will know that he is a coward."

Gritting his teeth in pain, the policeman nodded weakly; Freeze dropped him and drove away. Sage lay in the back, keeping her eyes on he captor and wondering what he had in store for her. The van stopped suddenly, and Freeze turned his freeze gun on her again. This time, when he fired, the ice shattered like window glass. She took a deep breath and tentatively moved her limbs.

"Get up, Miss Thierry," Freeze said. "Go inside the factory. Don't bother screaming; Batman knows where to find you."

"Why are you doing this?" Sage asked, even as she obeyed him.

"For revenge. He tried to kill my wife, and now he must either allow me to kill you, or die himself and save what little honor he has left."

Sage protested. "Batman would never hurt your wife."

"Silence," Freeze snapped. "I have already said too much."

They were at the door to the extra freezer now, and Freeze opened it, signaling for Sage to go inside. With nothing else to do, she did as she was commanded.

Batman was driving at top speed towards the ice cream factory, playing Freeze's message over in his head. He hadn't any doubt that Freeze intended to kill him, but he did not know why. Mr. Freeze was not like most of the other special criminals he had encountered, who went flying off the handle and onto a killing spree at the drop of a hat. As his name suggested, Freeze was normally very cold and calculating.

The road leading to the factory was frozen with three solid inches of ice, but Batman had no trouble with it. He braked sharply and left the Batmobile pretty close to where he had parked it to fight Poison Ivy and her evil plants not long before. He cautiously mounted the icy steps and opened the frigid door, though he barely noticed the cold. Batman's suit, though it did not look it, was very warm. It had to be, if he planned to patrol the city on long winter nights without catching pneumonia.

It was as silent as a crypt inside the factory and every bit as cold. Batman's breath came out in a fog. The frosty floor rang out under his feet as he stepped inside and closed the door. Freeze's glittering form appeared from the shadows.

Mr. Freeze smiled slightly, his teeth shining like diamonds. "So… you came rather than have me kill the lady. I knew you would."

Batman didn't reply. He could see Sage through the little window of the storage freezer, watching them. She was all right, just very cold and frightened. Freeze set his gun to its absolute cold setting and fired at Batman, who dodged to the side. Freeze kept firing in a circular pattern across the room after his cloaked adversary. Batman leaped from wall to wall like a panther to avoid the ice, and to get closer to Mr. Freeze.

Finally, Batman sprang at Freeze, knocking him to the ground. Though off balance, Mr. Freeze was still quite the fighter and hit Batman hard with the butt of his freeze gun in the solar plexus. Freeze made to shoot him while he was down, but the gun jammed and Batman managed to kick it from Freeze's grasp. The weapon skittered across the floor, out of the reach of both men.

Without the freeze gun, they fought hand-to-hand, each trying to prevent the other from reaching it. Mr. Freeze was stronger, but Batman was faster and more agile. Batman kicked Freeze hard enough to jar his helmet loose, but because they were inside Mr. Freeze's special environment, this did not hinder him.

After several more minutes of intense fighting, Freeze managed to land a right on Batman, knocking him down. Mr. Freeze reclaimed his weapon and aimed it at Batman's legs.

"I am only going to freeze your legs, so you will die slowly and painfully, like Nora would have when you unplugged her life support."

"I never saw your wife," Batman argued, "I have never been inside before. You saw me; if you were thinking straight you'd know that."

The memory came screaming back to Freeze. They had fought alone, and then Poison Ivy had reappeared. Batman had never had the opportunity to pull the plug on Nora. It must have been…

"Poison Ivy," Freeze said the name so quietly that Batman could barely hear him.

Batman moved into a more defensive position, but Freeze had forgotten that he was there.

"Poison Ivy." Mr. Freeze spoke more loudly this time. All the shock had left his tone, and it was tight with anger. "That _filthy_ liar!"

Betrayed, humiliated, and angry, he slammed his fist into the wall again. The sound echoed his frustration.

"Don't go after Poison Ivy," said Batman, rising, "Killing her isn't the answer.

"You don't understand, Batman," Freeze said, still in a very dangerous voice.

"I understand more than you think." Batman recalled the deaths of his parents at the hands of the young Jack Napier.

Freeze, however, was not to be reasoned with and, like wounded animals they fought again. Batman finally knocked out his foe with the Batarang. Almost immediately afterwards the police arrived. They had correctly guessed that this was where Freeze was hiding out, due to the amount of ice on the road. Sage was released from the freezer.

"Are you all right?" One of the policemen asked.

"Yes, just a little cold. He didn't hurt me, in fact I think it was warmer in that freezer than it is out here."

Once outside, where it was a good fifty degrees warmer, Sage noticed that Batman was gone, and asked where he was.

"He said something about Poison Ivy," one of the other policemen said.

Sage nodded to show that she had heard him, but she didn't say anything more. She had heard the conversation with Mr. Freeze and understood why he was going after Poison Ivy.

Batman knew where Poison Ivy had been living at the time of their last encounter when she had attempted to poison the mayor, and he decided to try Bell Street first. He used his zip line to get to the roof of Poison Ivy's building and saw that she had indeed returned to her old haunt. The mutant plants seemed to be asleep, but Batman spared no caution in breaking in.

He could hear water running, and he took a couple tentative steps toward the sound. The water stopped, and one of the creeper vine plants began to slither towards him. The slithering reached his ears. Looking down, he withdrew the sharp edged Batarang from his utility belt and silently turned to face the vines. They were all over the floor! The only place to go was up, and Batman jumped up onto Poison Ivy's desk.

The floor looked as if it had been covered by thousands of writhing green snakes. They were beginning to slide up the sides of the desk. He had nowhere else to go, and they began to grab his ankles. In an instant he resembled a mummy.

Poison Ivy entered the room. She had been taking a bath, and was clad in a long green kimono with a pattern of cherry blossoms. She reeked of orchids.

"Did my angels bring Mommy a present?" She asked, in a pseudo-Victorian voice, but when she saw Batman, Poison Ivy used her normal inflection. "Batman. All you had to do was knock, I'd let you in." She applied a fresh coat of orange nicotine lipstick. "Kiss me hello."

Batman closed his mouth very tightly and swung away from her.

"Now you've hurt my feelings," Ivy whined. "I hadn't planned on killing you, but you aren't any fun."

"Sorry to disappoint you." Batman was sawing away at the vines with his Batarang and had managed to free his left hand.

Ivy shrugged dramatically.

"Why did you try to kill Nora Friez?" Batman asked, to keep her distracted.

"What? How did you know I did that?"

Batman did not answer, but Poison Ivy didn't care.

"There was only room for one of us in Victor's heart, and it might as well be me. I'm here. I'm not in a coma. I'd do more for him than she ever did."

Batman laughed. Poison Ivy had never heard the sound before, and she did not care for it.

"Everything that Freeze has done was to make sure his wife would be cured," he said. "He wouldn't turn to you."

Ivy lost her temper and slapped him. Batman did not react.

Mr. Freeze regained consciousness in the back of the police wagon, still intent on revenge. He broke free of his bonds, opened the door and jumped out, receiving only a minimal amount of damage from his leap from a moving vehicle.

"Holy shit!" Exclaimed the rookie police officer, who was supposed to have prevented the escape.

"O'Hara's gonna kill me," the senior cop moaned. "He's gonna kill me, then he's gonna dig me up so Commissioner Gordon can kill me again."

Sadly he relayed the message, adding that Freeze was headed north.

Poison Ivy's anger abated after slapping Batman, and she woke up her evil Venus flytraps.

"Wake up my lovelies," she whispered. "I have a midnight snack for you."

The mutant flytrap lilies understood few words of English, but "snack" was one of them. They bared their nasty teeth in anticipation. Batman sawed through two more vines and was free.

"Bon appetite," Ivy said, and the flytraps lunged at him, jaws wide open.

Batman punched two away. A third one grabbed him, but it did not like the taste of his body armor and threw him at the greenhouse wall, which shattered. The creepers were after him again, as were the other two Venus flytraps.

Thinking quickly, he grabbed an armful of the vines and jammed them into the gaping maw of one of the monstrous plants. Poison Ivy went for her crossbow, and aimed it at Batman's head. She fired the bolt. At the very last second, Batman ducked, and the bolt came to rest in the throat of the remaining flytrap. It let out an agonized howl, powerful enough to shatter another section of glass.

The plant thrashed wildly, waving its tendrils. Batman rolled away and was grabbed by the creepers again.

"My angel!" Ivy ran to comfort her demon plant, but it had gone crazy with pain.

The dying Venus flytrap seized Poison Ivy about the waist with its huge jaws and threw her through the broken walls. She hit the skylight with a sickening crunch, slowly the glass around her cracked. Batman struggled against the creepers, but he was not quite fast enough. The skylight shattered and Poison Ivy fell.

Mr. Freeze, empowered by his thirst for revenge, arrived at the building just in time to see Poison Ivy hit the floor. She did not move for a second, then she began to whimper softly. Her fiery red hair spread out behind her, and her lovely ivory skin, as well as her kimono was dotted with scarlet blood. Weakly she extended a shaky bloody hand towards the glittering silver man beside her.

"Victor, help," she begged.

"No," said Freeze in a voice to chill one's blood. "Were our roles reversed you'd do the same."

Poison Ivy flinched as if she had been struck, gasped, and several stories above her the plants began to wail and thrash. The vines released Batman, thrashing about and tearing themselves asunder. The Venus flytraps wailed and banged their terrible heads to the ground, until they were mashed to a pulp.

For a moment, the scene of violence hypnotized Batman, but then he used his zip line to follow his beautiful enemy down through the hole in the skylight. When he landed, he saw that she was dead, watched by Mr. Freeze, whose face was unreadable. As the two men stared at the dead woman, a curious change overcame her body.

Very slowly, it faded away, but in its place was the most beautiful bed of flowers. There were scarlet roses, and ones that were as white as the purest snow. Sweet smelling herbs grew among the roses, and at the heart of the flowerbed was a single sprig of poison ivy.

Mr. Freeze's rage left him, and he addressed Batman. "She is dead. Now that I have no more need for revenge are you going to return me to the police?"

Batman studied the blossoms that had once been Poison Ivy for a long minute before he chose his reply. "How is your research?"

"Only just begun."

"Finish it."

Mr. Freeze stared at Batman in amazement. "You're letting me go?"

"No. I didn't let you go because I was frozen."

Freeze looked at his freeze gun, which he had retrieved from the police during his escape. "I misjudged you, Batman," he said, "And I thank you. Nora and I both thank you."

Before Batman could say anything, Mr. Freeze froze Batman where he stood. When the police arrived a few minutes later, Freeze was gone, but they found the frozen Batman standing near the bed of flowers in the sea of broken glass. They broke the ice encasing Batman, and they asked him several questions, receiving laconic replies.

One of the cops sneered at Batman. "You're losing your touch. How many times has he gotten away from you now-three?"

"We didn't have any better luck," his partner snapped. "So shut the hell up."

During their argument Batman disappeared. He returned to the Batcave, and when a very cold and tired Bruce Wayne emerged from it, Alfred Pennyworth and Sage Thierry were waiting for him.

"What happened?" Sage asked. "You look… I don't know, awful."

Bruce sat down next to Sage and gave the full story, leaving nothing out.

"Do you think I did the right thing?" Bruce asked.

Sage saw that he was asking Alfred, and cuddled closer to Bruce instead of replying.

"I think you were very noble, sir." Alfred said.

Mr. Freeze's hideout was, with the exception of the crime scene tape, untouched by both the police and the general public when he returned. He removed his helmet and armor like a knight after a long and hard battle and went to Nora.

For a long time he could only look at her while he tried to collect his thoughts. Finally he said, "I was wrong, Nora. About Batman and about Pam. But I know things will be right again soon, and we can both walk in the warm air again."

On that hopeful note, Victor Friez produced one of the scarlet roses and placed it gently at his wife's feet.

**The End**


End file.
